Container for a cosmetic product, comprising a hinged intermediate panel having a hollow front portion

ABSTRACT

A container for cosmetic product, includes at least one base part having at least one housing delimited to receive a cosmetic product. A cover is hinged about a first pivoting axis and the cover is kept closed on the base part by an actuator. An intermediate panel is rotatable with respect to the cover and the base part about a second pivot axis, when the container is open, between a closed usage position where the inner edge of the intermediate panel is lowered onto the base part around the cosmetic product to keep the product within the housing, and an inclined open position. The intermediate panel includes at least one hollow front portion forming a receptacle. The base part includes at least one opening that extends through the entire thickness thereof so as to receive, in the closed position of the intermediate panel, the hollow front portion.

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to containers of the case type for cosmetic products, in particular for receiving cosmetic products in the shape of blocks (or cups).

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

At present time there are numerous types of containers for receiving cosmetic products, in particular make-up. In the more specific field of containers of the case type including a base part and a hinged cover, providing one or more housings in the base part is known, to place therein at least one coloured compressed powder in the form of a solid block or a waxy formula, coloured or not. This in particular relates to eye shadow, face powders (colouring, blusher, bronzer) or cosmetic products for lip make-up.

These cases make it possible, in some cases, to contain several blocks of different colours or different shades of the same colour disposed in a plurality of compartments provided for this purpose.

However, the advantage of these so-called “pocket” cases is being easily transportable, but size limits are quickly reached with regard to the number of blocks that can be contained. Thus it is usual to have a plurality of different cases for different types of product (eye shadow, face powder) and/or of colours/shades of colours, which may quickly become complicated to manage and bulky.

However, it is often true that a person uses this case at their home to apply make-up in the morning before going to work, with therefore a first type of make-up, carries it to work in their bag, possibly uses it during the day to retouch their make-up, and wishes to once again use it in the evening without going home again to potentially use another type of make-up different from the first. As indicated previously, the palette of colours or shades of colours is very small, in general 4 shades and rarely more than 8, so that the person cannot greatly vary the type of make-up, unless carrying with them a certain number of cases (with the previously mentioned drawbacks) or having to go home again, which is impractical and even sometimes impossible. This person will therefore usually be contented with the colours/shades offered by the case that they have with them. The cases of the prior art are therefore limited in the daily use thereof.

To solve this problem there are cases in which it is possible to replace the range of colours/shades. However, they are complex to use since it is necessary to replace the whole of a piece constituting the case, for example a slide or a panel. Mention can be made in particular of the patents FR2732200 and US2015201733.

Another solution described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,421,127 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,826,014 makes it possible to replace make-up blocks using a hinged intermediate panel disposed between the bottom of the base part and the cover of the case. However, other problems may also be raised with regard to this type of case. This is because lifting the panel in order to remove the blocks is in general impractical since it is difficult to access said panel.

Moreover, these cases remain fairly bulky, in particular with regard to manufacture (incorporating of hinges), and/or with regard to strength and/or “perceived quality”. However, at the present time, reducing quantities of materials used in the manufacture of parts made from plastics material, even in the case where they can be recycled, is an increasingly important question. The manufacturers of packaging for cosmetic products are therefore acting in particular on reducing thicknesses, which makes it possible to reduce the environmental impact of the case.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

An objective of the present invention is to at least partly respond to the limitations of the prior art previously mentioned.

In particular, one aim of the invention is to propose a very compact, versatile, environmentally friendly and easy-to-use product.

To this effect, the invention relates to a container for a cosmetic product or products in the form of a block or blocks, including at least:

-   -   a base part having a given thickness, a top surface and a bottom         surface, and including at least one inner housing delimited to         receive at least one cosmetic product,     -   a cover hinged about a first pivoting axis common to the base         part,     -   means that can be manually actuated by a user for holding the         cover closed on the base part, and     -   an intermediate panel able to rotate with respect to the cover         and to the base part about a second pivoting axis, when the         container is open, between at least a first closed position of         use wherein an inner edge of said intermediate panel is lowered         onto the base part around the cosmetic product in order to hold         the latter in the inner housing, and a second inclined open         position, wherein for example the cosmetic product can be         removed from the base part,

characterized in that:

-   -   the intermediate panel further includes at least one hollow         front portion forming a receptacle having a given depth and a         bottom surface, and     -   the base part also includes at least one opening passing         entirely through the thickness thereof to receive, in the first         position of the intermediate panel, said hollow front portion.

According to preferred embodiments of the present invention:

-   -   the hollow front portion of the intermediate panel is the only         one and the depth thereof is such that, once the container is         closed and the hollow front portion is inserted in the through         opening, also the only one, in the base part, the bottom surface         of said hollow portion fits flush with the bottom surface of         said base part,     -   the through opening in the base part is disposed away from the         inner housing for the cosmetic product or products, opposite to         the first pivoting axis, and the hollow front portion of the         intermediate panel is disposed away from the inner edge,         opposite to the second pivoting axis,     -   the intermediate panel includes, at the front part, at least one         cut-out of material forming a zone recessed toward the inside of         the base part, which includes at least one finger-support front         zone bordering said recessed zone for receiving said recessed         zone in the closed position of use of the intermediate panel, in         order to facilitate going from the closed position of use to the         inclined open position of the intermediate panel,     -   the finger-support zone of the base part has, where it borders         the recessed zone of the intermediate panel, a substantially         rounded profile similar to an end of a finger of a user,     -   the inner edge of the intermediate panel is divided into a         plurality of reception portions each corresponding to an         independent cosmetic product, and the inner housing of the base         part includes means delimiting a plurality of reception zones         corresponding to said reception portions,     -   the inner housing of the base part is provided with ribs for         positioning/locking the cosmetic products,     -   the various reception portions of the intermediate panel are         delimited by continuous ribs extending substantially between the         second pivoting axis and the hollow front portion,     -   the first and second pivoting axes are coaxial,     -   the intermediate panel is provided with means for holding it in         the closed position of use on the base part,     -   the means for holding the intermediate panel on the base part         comprise two side hooks provided on a front edge of said         intermediate panel cooperating with corresponding slots provided         in the base part to form clips,     -   the means for holding the cover closed on the base part comprise         two independent parts, wherein at least a first part is carried         solely by the intermediate panel,     -   the cover having an internal mirror held in place by a         mirror-grip frame, the other part of the means for holding said         cover on said base part is entirely carried by said mirror grip,     -   the first part of the means for keeping the cover closed on the         base part is disposed on a front edge of the hollow front         portion of said intermediate panel, and     -   the first part of the means for holding the cover closed on the         base part includes elastic lugs, a push button and a hook housed         in an opening provided in the mirror grip.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

Other particular advantages, aims and features of the present invention will emerge from the following non-limitative description of at least one particular embodiment of said object of the present invention, with regard to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is an isometric perspective view of the container according to the present invention,

FIG. 2 is an isometric perspective view of the container of FIG. 1 in the open position with an intermediate panel in the closed position of use,

FIG. 3 is an isometric perspective view of the container of FIG. 2 with an intermediate panel in the inclined open position,

FIG. 4 is an isometric perspective view similar to FIG. 3 with make-up cups,

FIG. 5 is a view in cross section of FIG. 2,

FIG. 6 is a view from the right of FIG. 1,

FIG. 7 is a view from the left of FIG. 1,

FIG. 8 is a plan view of FIG. 1,

FIG. 9 is a front view of FIG. 1,

FIG. 10 is a view from below of FIG. 1,

FIG. 11 is a plan view of the base part of the container,

FIG. 12 is a view from below of the base part of FIG. 11,

FIG. 13 is an isometric perspective view of the base part of FIGS. 11 and 12,

FIG. 14 is a second isometric perspective view of the base part of FIGS. 11 and 12,

FIG. 15 is a detail view of FIG. 14,

FIG. 16 is a plan view of the intermediate panel,

FIG. 17 is a view from below of the intermediate panel of FIG. 16,

FIG. 18 is an isometric perspective view of the intermediate panel of FIGS. 16 and 17,

FIG. 19 is a detail view of FIG. 18,

FIG. 20 is an isometric perspective view of the cover of the container, and

FIG. 21 is an isometric perspective view of a mirror-grip frame of the container.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

FIGS. 1 to 21 show a container 1 for a cosmetic product or products according to the present invention. This container 1, or case, is typically produced from a single plastics material, preferably bio-sourced, and has a right angle parallelepipedal shape, for example with a format that can be held in one hand, with a total thickness E (see FIGS. 6 and 7 in particular) from a few millimetres to approximately 1 cm. It makes it possible to transport cosmetic products 100 such as, non-limitatively, eye shadow, face powder or lipstick.

This container includes a cover 10, a mirror-grip frame 20, a mirror 30 trapped between the cover 10 and the mirror-grip frame 20, a base part 40 and an intermediate panel 50.

The base part 40 and the cover 10 are hinged about a first pivot 60 enabling said cover 10 to pass alternately from a first closed position illustrated in FIG. 1 to an open position of use illustrated in FIG. 2.

Likewise, the intermediate panel 50 and the base part 40 are hinged about a second pivot 70 enabling said intermediate panel 50 to pass from a first lowered position of use illustrated by FIGS. 2 to 5 to a second inclined open position illustrated by FIGS. 3 and 4.

Advantageously, the pivots 60 and 70 are coaxial and are each provided with (not shown) pins serving as a rotation axis.

The intermediate panel 50 includes, as is in particular visible in FIGS. 16 to 19, an inner edge 51 for receiving cosmetic products 100 each in the form of blocks, for example solid, and a hollow front portion 52 forming a receptacle for one or more pencils/brushes for applying make-up.

More precisely, the inner edge 51 is divided into a plurality (4 in number in the embodiment shown) of reception portions 53 each corresponding to a block 100 (see also FIG. 4), each portion 53 being delimited by side ribs 54 each extending continuously between the second pivot 70 and the hollow front portion 52 in order to form the same number of frames.

The base part 40 for its part includes, as can be seen in particular in FIGS. 3 and 11 to 15, a given thickness Es, a bottom surface 41, and a top surface 42 forming an inner housing 43 for receiving the blocks of cosmetic products 100. More precisely, the inner housing 43 includes short ribs 44 for positioning/locking the blocks of cosmetic product 100 that cooperate with the frames formed by the ribs 54 of the intermediate panel 50 (see FIG. 4). Thus, in the closed position of use of the intermediate panel 50 on the base part 40 (FIG. 5), the blocks of cosmetic products 100 placed between the ribs 44 (see FIG. 4) are trapped firstly by said ribs 44 and the front and rear edges of the inner housing 43, and secondly by the ribs 54 of the intermediate panel 50. Thus the blocks 100 always remain in place when the container 1 is transported, with the cover 10 closed, and when it is used, with the cover 10 open. These blocks 100 can also be removed very easily from the base part 40 by moving the intermediate panel 50 from the first closed position of use (FIG. 1) to the second inclined open position (FIGS. 2 and 3).

Advantageously, the base part 40 further includes a through opening 45 for receiving, in the lowered closed position of the intermediate panel 50 (FIGS. 2 and 5), the whole of the hollow front portion 52 of the latter.

The through opening 45 of the base part 40 is disposed away from the inner housing 43 of cosmetic products, opposite the pivoting axes 60 and 70. Likewise, the hollow front portion 52 of the intermediate panel 50 is disposed opposite to the pivoting axes 60 and 70.

More precisely, the depth Ep of the hollow front portion 52 is such that, once the container 1 is closed and the hollow front portion 52 is inserted in the through opening 45 in the base part 40, the bottom surface 55 of said hollow portion 52 fits flush with the bottom surface 41 of the base part 40 (visible in particular in FIGS. 6, 7 and 9).

Moreover, the intermediate panel 50 includes, in the front part, two cut-outs of material forming zones 56 recessed towards the inside the base part 40, which includes two front side support zones 46 respectively bordering said recessed zones 56 to receive them in the closed position of use of the intermediate panel.

Advantageously, each support zone 46 of the base part 40 has, where it borders the recessed zone 56 of the intermediate panel 50, a substantially rounded profile similar to an end of a finger of a user.

This solution has various advantages that are particularly advantageous compared with the prior art.

This is because this makes it possible, without any increase in material or additional attached piece, to house make-up pencils/brushes in the very small space (in particular the thickness) occupied by the hollow front portion 52. The container is therefore both lightweight and compact while offering sufficient capacity and very simple manipulation, both in the daily use thereof and for changing the blocks of cosmetic products.

Moreover, the advantage of this rechargeable case 1 being that it is possible to remove at least some of the blocks 100 by lifting the intermediate panel 50, providing for the hollow front portion 52 to be housed entirely in the through opening 45 of the base part 40, while fitting flush with the bottom surface 41 thereof, enables the person using the container 1 to lift said intermediate panel 50 into the inclined second position thereof (FIGS. 2 and 3) in a very simple, ergonomic and user-friendly manner, with low force, by pushing it from below, for example by means of their two index fingers. The finger-support zones 46 also facilitate changing from the closed position of use to the inclined open position of the intermediate panel 50 by making a lever effect firstly with the thumb, which bears on the finger-support zone or zones, and secondly with the index finger, which pushes the bottom of the hollow front portion 52 from above.

The ribs 44 of the base part 40 are positioned so that the cups of cosmetic products 100 are held in position even once the intermediate panel 50 is in the inclined open position. It is thus easier to interchange the cups 100 and to close the intermediate panel 50 again without locking a cup underneath.

Finally, the fact that the bottom surface 55 of the hollow portion 52 fits flush with the bottom surface 41 of the base part 40 makes it possible to create a truly flat container bottom while optimising to the maximum extent the use of the through opening 45.

The container 1 is also provided with means for holding the intermediate panel 50 in the closed position of use on the base part 40. More precisely, and as can be seen in FIGS. 14 and 18 and in particular on the detail views of FIGS. 15 and 19, these means are composed of two side hooks 58 provided on a front edge of said panel 50 cooperating with slots 48 provided in the front rim of the base part 40 in order to form clips for fixing by pressure.

The container 1 further includes means 90 for holding the cover 10 closed on the base part 40. As can be seen in FIGS. 2 to 4 and 17 to 18, these means 90 comprise two independent parts, or more precisely a first part 91 carried solely by the intermediate panel 50, on the front of the hollow front portion 52, and a second part 95 carried by the mirror-grip frame 20. The first part 91 includes two elastic lugs 92 disposed at the front edge of the hollow front portion 52, a central button 93 housed in an opening 47 in the base part 40, and a hook 94 cooperating with a housing 96 in the second part 95.

It must be understood that the detailed description of the object of the invention, given solely by way of illustration, in no way constitutes a limitation, the technical equivalents also being included in the field of the present invention.

Thus the hollow front portion 52 could be in a plurality of parts, each receiving for example a small pencil and cooperating with a through opening provided in the thickness of the base part 40. It is thus possible to imagine two hollow portions for two different types of brush fully inserted in two independent through openings separated for example by a small portion of material.

The number of blocks of cosmetic product 100, and therefore of reception portions 53, may be less than or greater than the four that are the object of the figures of the present application.

The blocks 100 may also be in the form of waxy formulae, coloured or not. 

1-15. (canceled)
 16. A container for at least one cosmetic product in the form of a block or blocks, comprising at least: a base part having a predetermined thickness, and comprising a top surface, a bottom surface, and at least one inner housing delimited to receive said at least one cosmetic product; a cover hinged about a first pivoting axis common to the base part; an actuator manually operable by a user to keep the cover closed on the base part; and an intermediate panel configured to rotate with respect to the cover and to the base part about a second pivoting axis, when the container is open, between at least a closed position of use wherein an inner edge of the intermediate panel is lowered onto the base part around said at least one cosmetic product to hold said at least one cosmetic product in said at least one inner housing, and an inclined open position; wherein said at least one cosmetic product is removable from the base part; wherein the intermediate panel further comprises at least one hollow front portion forming a receptacle having a predetermined depth and a bottom surface; and wherein the base part further comprises at least one through opening passing entirely through the predetermined thickness thereof to receive, in the closed position of the intermediate panel, said at least one hollow front portion.
 17. The container of claim 16, wherein, in a closed position of the container, only said at least one hollow front portion of the intermediate panel is insertable in said at least one through opening in the base part and the bottom surface of the hollow front portion is configured to fit flush with the bottom surface of the base part.
 18. The container of claim 17, wherein said at least one through opening in the base part is disposed away from said at least one inner housing, opposite to the first pivoting axis; and wherein said at least one hollow front portion of the intermediate panel is disposed away from the inner edge, opposite to the second pivoting axis.
 19. The container of claim 16, wherein the intermediate panel at its front part comprises at least one cut-out of material forming a recessed zone recessed toward inside of the base part; and wherein the base part comprises at least one finger-support zone bordering the recessed zone to receive the recessed zone in the closed position of use of the intermediate panel, to facilitate a movement from the closed position of use to the inclined open position of the intermediate panel.
 20. The container of claim 19, wherein said at least one finger-support zone, at its border with the recessed zone, comprises a rounded profile similar to an end of a finger of the user.
 21. The container of claim 16, wherein the inner edge of the intermediate panel is divided into a plurality of reception portions, each portion corresponding to an independent cosmetic product; and wherein said at least one inner housing of the base part comprises short ribs delimiting a plurality of reception zones, each reception zone corresponding to a different reception portion.
 22. The container of claim 21, wherein said short ribs are configured to position and lock said at least one cosmetic product.
 23. The container of claim 21, wherein said plurality of reception portions of the intermediate panel are delimited by continuous ribs extending between the second pivoting axis and said at least one hollow front portion.
 24. The container of claim 16, wherein the first pivoting axis and the second pivoting axis are coaxial.
 25. The container of claim 16, wherein the intermediate panel comprises a connector to hold the intermediate panel in the closed position of use on the base part.
 26. The container of claim 25, wherein the connector comprises two side hooks provided on a front edge of the intermediate panel cooperating with corresponding slots provided in the base part to form clips.
 27. The container of claim 16, wherein the actuator comprises two independent parts, at least a first part of the actuator being provided solely on the intermediate panel.
 28. The container of claim 27, wherein the cover comprises an internal mirror held in place by a mirror-grip frame, a second part of the actuator being entirely provided on the mirror grip frame.
 29. the container of claim 28, wherein the first part of the actuator is disposed in front of said at least one hollow front portion of the intermediate panel.
 30. The container of claim 29, wherein the first part of the actuator comprises elastic lugs, a push button and a hook cooperating with a housing provided in the mirror-grip frame. 